The Department of Veterans Affairs will mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks by hosting volunteer events on Saturday, Sept. 12, at more than 144 locations, including national cemeteries, VA-funded facilities and private cemeteries, beautifying the grounds to honor the fallen.
The VA has held events on Patriot Day, as the date was declared by Congress in December 2001, to honor the 47 veterans and family members killed in the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, as well as the more than 16,000 veterans who have died since and are interred at VA national cemeteries.
“As our nation marks the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, VA national cemeteries offer a meaningful place to honor the courage and sacrifice of that day,” said VA Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs Sam Brown, a retired Army captain who was severely wounded in combat in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2008.
Patriot Day honors not only those killed in the attacks, but the service members, law enforcement officers, firefighters and first responders who responded, as well as those who gave their lives for their country in subsequent wars.
The efforts mark the eighth year the VA teamed with Carry the Load to host the volunteer events. The nonprofit was founded by two Navy SEALs to promote remembrance of fallen service members on Memorial Day.
“As we come together on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Carry The Load’s National Day of Service and Remembrance gives Americans a meaningful way to honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost,” said former Naval Special Warfare officer and group co-founder Stephen Holley in a statement.
On Sept. 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners and flew them into the World Trade Center towers in New York City; the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; and a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
Forty-four passengers died on United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania; 184 people, including 59 passengers of American Airlines Flight 77 and 125 military and civilian Pentagon employees died in Arlington, Virginia, while the remainder perished in the World Trade Center towers, at work, on American Airlines Flight 11, United Airlines Flight 175, or in the response and collapse of the buildings.
The events, which will begin at 10 a.m., will include brief ceremonies followed by opportunities to clean headstones and conduct other restoration activities. All supplies will be furnished. Those wishing to participate can register with Carry the Load. More information is available on the VA’s website.
The VA manages 157 cemeteries nationwide and funds an additional 125 state, territorial and tribal veterans cemeteries.
Last week, the department dedicated the first national cemetery in the state of Nevada in Elko. The 15-acre grounds, expected to open for interments in late 2026, will include 1,045 gravesites as well as a columbarium and other facilities.
Veterans who are eligible for VA burial benefits include all who were discharged under something other than dishonorable conditions; spouses or surviving spouses of eligible veterans; dependent children; and some others.
Patricia Kime is a senior writer covering military and veterans health care, medicine and personnel issues.
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